For nearly 30 years, Nancy Murphy has worked at the intersection of the public, private and nonprofit sectors to bring bold, creative solutions to persistent social challenges. She is known for her strategic thinking, exceptional facilitation skills, ability to forge effective partnerships, gift for communicating complex concepts in clear and simple ways, and a knack for bringing a vision to reality. Nancy spent more than a decade in consulting firms, leading APCO Worldwide’s corporate responsibility practice and then heading the D.C. office for Portland-based Metropolitan Group. During those years, Nancy redesigned corporate philanthropy and community relations programs for several Fortune 100 companies, including UPS, Johnson Controls and Freddie Mac. She also led strategy and communication projects for foundation and nonprofit clients.
Nancy served as executive vice president and senior advisor for social innovation at Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, where she led the organization’s initiative to scale the impact of effective nonprofits. While with Steve and Jean Case’s family foundation, Nancy led international grantmaking and developed innovative fundraising efforts for grantees helping to provide clean drinking water in sub-Saharan Africa.
Nancy holds a master’s degree in public affairs from University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School, a master’s in health communication from Boston University, and a bachelor’s degree in American Studies from University of Dayton. Nancy currently serves on the board for the global nonprofit Pact and was board chair for six years.
In 2018, Nancy launched the Intrapreneurs Influence Lab, a year-long training and coaching program to help social purpose leaders accelerate massive change inside their organizations. Nancy teaches intrapreneurship and leadership for the executive education program at Loyola University Maryland’s Sellinger School of Business.